NEWS

RSU to Host Primer on Entrepreneur Ready Community Certification

The Innovation Center at Rogers State University is hosting a community gathering on Thursday, April 14, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Centennial Center.

This event will cover Claremore's opportunity to become a certified Entrepreneur Ready Community, including presentations by Innovation Center staff and community entrepreneurs, and an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking will be available in the Centennial Center parking lot and the event will be in conference room B on the building's second floor.

The certification program focuses on creating local support systems for business development with a community-based economic development plan.

As a certified community, Claremore would implement a plan to assess the current state of entrepreneur readiness and current business needs to ultimately create jobs, increase sales tax revenue and become a destination.

"Our goal is to create a corridor of certified entrepreneur-ready communities to provide support services to small businesses and local entrepreneurs who need business assistance to become sustainable, successful job-creating entities," says Dr. Ray Brown, RSU vice president for economic and community development.

Attendees should include community leaders, accountants, attorneys, educators, entrepreneurs, elected officials, bankers or anyone who has a stake in Claremore's future.

The RSU Innovation Center is charged with fostering economic and community development in northeast Oklahoma. Funding for the Entrepreneur Ready Community certification program has been made available through a federal grant from the Economic Development Administration. For more information, contact the Innovation Center at (918) 343-7533.